Good evening. Back on Sunday, I compiled a list of every prominent individual that the Trump administration was attempting to prosecute for what appear to be vindictive, political reasons.
I was pretty proud of this list, but Sunday afternoon is not the best time to generate eyeballs on your work. As such, below a related petition from our activism partners at Civic Shout, I have updated and refined the list I sent out on Sunday. Additionally, for everyone listed, I added a brief explanation of why the Trump administration is targeting that individual. Please check it out, as I think it is the most thorough list on this topic around.
Once again, here is a list of every prominent, perceived political adversary of Donald Trump that the Trump administration (not Congress) has charged, investigated or prosecuted for what appear to be vindictive, political reasons.- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Was charged with trespassing for visiting an ICE facility with other elected officials. The charges were quickly dropped.
- John Brennan, former CIA Director. Targeted by Trump administration over the summer during a bad news cycle over the Epstein files. The Trump administration is investigating Brennan for supposedly making false statements to Congress regarding Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Months later, no charges against Brennan have been filed.
- John Bolton, former National Security Advisor. Bolton, who has long been a fierce critic of Donald Trump, has been charged, and indicted, with 18 counts of retaining and transmitting classified information. Even though this is likely a case of selective enforcement, it should be noted that this case is different from most of the others listed here in that Bolton may have actually committed criminal acts. If successfully prosecuted, Bolton will be removed from the list.
- John Choi, Ramsey County Attorney General. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
- James Comey, former FBI Director. Comey, long a target of Donald Trump's ire, was indicted back in October for making false statements to Congress and supposed obstruction of a federal investigation. The case against Comey was deeply flawed, and the indictment has since been dismissed.
- Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve Governor. One of the many prominent political figures targeted for "mortgage fraud" by Trump administration hatchet man Bill Pulte. Not a single one of these charges have ever been successfully prosecuted in court by the Trump administration.
- Rep. Jason Crow. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six.
- Rep. Chris Deluzio. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six.
- Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
- Rep. Maggie Godolander. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six.
- St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
- Rep. Chrissy Houlahan. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six.
- David Heurta, California SEIU President. To quote from Protect Democracy, "Mr. Huerta is being prosecuted by acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli’s office which has been forced to dismiss numerous cases because of faulty or fabricated allegations…. On October 28, 2025 a federal judge disqualified Mr. Essayli from acting as the U.S. Attorney for unlawfully assuming the role of Acting United States Attorney based on several factors that culminated in the illegality of his purported appointment."
- Letitia James, New York Attorney General. One of the many prominent political figures targeted for "mortgage fraud" by Trump administration hatchet man Bill Pulte. Not a single one of these charges have ever been successfully prosecuted in court by the Trump administration.
- Sen. Mark Kelly. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six, with a particular focus on Kelly.
- Chris Krebs, Former Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS. Trump signed an executive order specifically to target Krebs, for the crime of not saying the 2020 election was rigged.
- Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller. Forcibly arrested by federal agents supposedly for assaulting a federal officer. However, since that was apparently total BS, Lander was eventually released without charge.
- Rep. LaMonica McIver. Arrested along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka during a visit by elected officials to an ICE facility in New Jersey. However, while the charges against Baraka were dropped, Rep. McIver has actually been indicted for allegedly impeding and interfering with federal officers. This case may actually go to trial, although it is highly unlikely to lead to a conviction.
- Mary Moriarty, Hennepin County Attorney General. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
- Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chairman. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has been a frequent target of Donald Trump's for not lowering interest rates faster. The day after a meeting at the White House where Donald Trump lambasted his U.S. Attorneys for not prosecuting his political opponents successfully enough, one of those U.S. Attorneys opened an investigation in to Jerome Powell, to widespread backlash.
- Sen. Adam Schiff. One of the many prominent political figures targeted for "mortgage fraud" by Trump administration hatchet man Bill Pulte. Not a single one of these charges have ever been successfully prosecuted in court by the Trump administration.
- Sen. Elissa Slotkin. One of the six Democratic members of Congress involved in the "illegal orders" video in late 2025. Trump called the video "SEDITIOUS" and that all six should be "ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL." The Trump administration is investigating all six.
- Jack Smith, former Special Counsel. The Trump administration is investigating Jack Smith, the Special Counsel who investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, for supposed violations of the Hatch Act. However, we all know Trump seeking retribution against someone who tried to prosecute him.
- Rep. Eric Swalwell. One of the many prominent political figures targeted for "mortgage fraud" by Trump administration hatchet man Bill Pulte. Not a single one of these charges have ever been successfully prosecuted in court by the Trump administration.
- Miles Taylor, former Chief of Staff of DHS. As with Chris Krebs, Trump also signed an executive order against Miles Taylor, for the same crime of not saying the 2020 election was rigged.
- Gov. Tim Walz. One of the Minnesota elected officials who the Trump administration has served with grand jury subpoenas for supposedly obstructing an immigration enforcement operation.
It should be noted that this list only focuses on the most prominent individuals target by the Trump administration for what appear to be vindictive, political reasons. There have been numerous other, less prominent, individuals who have also been targeted, many of whom were protesting the Trump administration in some form.
I will continue working on refining and expanding this list, as I believe it is important to conduct a full accounting of the politically motivated ways that the Trump administration is abusing the justice system. Additionally, there also needs to be a list of the organizations, such as law firms, advocacy organizations and ActBlue, that the Trump administration has targeted for vindictive, political reasons. Finally, there needs to be an account of all the prosecutions that the Trump administration has declined to pursue against allies of Donald Trump, as well as the pardons he has granted.
So, expect more to come. This is an unfortunately rich vein to tap, but it needs to be done.
Thank you for your time,
Chris Bowers
Founder, Bowers News Media
Notes on petitions:
–I always include actions with my articles and news explainers to give my audience a way to go more than just read. I have done this for over 15 yeas, both at Bowers News Media and at my previous places of employment.
–Overall, petitions do not typically make a noticeable impact. There are some exceptions, like cancelling student debt, which was an idea that came from a petition. However, that sort of outcome is pretty rare. Mostly, petitions make a difference in the way that speeches make a difference, or posting about politics on social media makes a difference, or op-ed pieces make a difference, or really the way almost any political act makes a difference. That is, all of these actions, including petitions, are part of the broader discourse promoting or raising awareness about different ideas.
–I do use petitions as a means of generating income for Bowers News Media through partners such as Civic Shout, of growing my email list though joint actions with partner organizations, or of generating donations for Bowers News Media by directing action takers to ActBlue pages after they sign. Personally, I think this is a lot better than advertisements, which I consider ugly and intrusive and do not use.
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About
Bowers News Media is a one-person grassroots activism email list, run by me, Chris Bowers, a 20-year veteran of online progressive politics at Daily Kos, Open Left and MyDD. I write all of the emails myself, in an honest, measured, personal voice, citing all of my sources and avoiding exaggeration. I aim to bring you the most efficient activism operation around, almost entirely free of overhead, and to always remain accessible to you by reading every single email you send me (and replying to most of them).
Wolves and Sheep is a Substack run by Matthew Kerbel, a political science professor of over 30 years at Villanova University. Matt brings you timely, outside the beltway analysis of our national politics, informed by history and social science, to help you make sense of what often feels like an out-of-control world.
Together, we run the Bowers Kerbel Media collaboration, a joint effort between Bowers News Media and Wolves and Sheep. Matt and I are old friends, and even wrote a book together about a decade ago.
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